London has been struck by torrential rain and flooding again today, with Whipps Cross Hospital turned into a no-go zone and 100 inpatients evacuated as the Met Office issues a four-day storm warning after the UK was battered by almost a month's worth of rain yesterday.
Homes, roads and Tube stations across the capital were deluged, while Whipps Cross was forced to cancel all surgery and outpatient appointments on Monday after the basement was flooded, causing damage to the electrical system and a loss of power.
A major incident was called across Barts Health NHS Trust, with staff moving 100 inpatients from affected wards, including to other hospitals within the group, while ambulances were diverted to other A&E departments to relieve the pressure on Whipps Cross.
The Met Office issued yellow warnings for thunderstorms and heavy rain in England and Scotland from today to Thursday, possibly causing further flooding and transport disruption. The wettest part of the country on Sunday was St James's Park in London, where 41.8mm of rain fell.
The average rainfall for July in London is 45mm, meaning almost a month's worth of rain fell in one 24-hour period. The daily rainfall value of 41.8mm recorded at St James's park is that weather station's second-wettest July day on record.
A yellow thunderstorm warning was in place for parts of Kent and Sussex between 10am and 5pm today while another yellow storm warning has been issued across much of Wales, northern and central England between 9am on Tuesday and 6am on Wednesday.
The heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop on Tuesday and will last well into the night across north Wales and north-west England in particular.
Meanwhile, a yellow thunderstorm warning is in place for most of Scotland for 12 hours from noon on Tuesday, while yellow rain warnings also follow for all of Wednesday and the early hours of Thursday morning.
Flash flooding at Yeovil in Somerset after torrential rain and thunderstorms struck during the late afternoon
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue officers on a flooded section of the A30 in Yeovil outside a Halfords autocentre
Flooding forced Whipps Cross Hospital to cancel surgeries and appointments after some departments lost power during the thunderstorms yesterday afternoon. Pictured: A fire engine is seen outside the main entrance to Whipps Cross Hospital today
Barts Health NHS Trust said patients are being transferred from the affected departments to other hospitals within the trust
Near Whipps Cross Hospital, one family's home, where they have lived for 34 years, was flooded during their first get-together in 18 months and family member Nicola Thorogood has described the experience as 'heartbreaking' for her parents
Floodwater begins to subside in Battersea, London, today leaving mud covered roads and a car which was abandoned
A family's home has been flooded after heavy rain in London
A woman whose childhood home was flooded during the family's first get-together in 18 months has described the experience as 'heartbreaking' for her parents.
Nicola Thorogood, 33, was at her parents' house in Walthamstow, east London, along with her two sisters, their partners and all their children when torrential rain hit the area on Sunday.
The family made a frantic attempt to keep the water out of the home they moved into in 1987, but in the end they gave up and put their efforts into trying to save as many belongings as possible.
'It's heartbreaking for my parents,' Ms Thorogood said.
'It's just knowing what they've put into it - they're in their mid-60s now, but they're still working - and they've worked so hard all their life to have that house and it's the thing they're most proud of and want to pass on to us eventually. It's that that breaks my heart.'
The house is about a 10-minute walk from Whipps Cross Hospital, which declared a major incident on Sunday.
Ms Thorogood's family were all together on Sunday for the first time since January 2020 after so-called Freedom Day.
Her older sister left with her children shortly after 3pm as the weather started to worsen, and soon after the rest of the family were using buckets to try to sweep water away from the front step, and build makeshift flood defences using bin bags and soil.
When it became clear they could not stop the water, they instead tried to save as many belongings as they could.
Ms Thorogood said: 'We took what we could upstairs, obviously anything like sentimental photos and things like that. Then we retreated upstairs to my parents' room and just watched the rain fall and the flood come in.'
'My mum was close to tears,' Ms Thorogood said. 'She kept saying, 'nobody's hurt' and 'there's worse things could happen' but you could see the pain on her face.
'My mum's very house proud - she's always cleaning and she's always decorating and she keeps it to a nice standard.'
By Monday morning the water had receded and her parents were beginning to clean up.
'They stayed because mum just didn't want to leave,' Ms Thorogood, who lives in Chingford, said.
'I spoke to her this morning and she said the water's gone, but it's like a warzone, and they don't know where to start.
'I'm hoping she'll come and stay here for a few days... they can't stay there, at the moment they have no power, they don't know if it's safe to put it back on.
'So it's just a bit of a waiting game.'
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A spokeswoman for Barts Health NHS Trust said: 'We are continuing to experience operational issues at Whipps Cross Hospital due to the heavy rainfall yesterday.
'We cancelled all planned surgery and outpatient appointments for today, and are diverting ambulances while we work hard to clean up affected areas of the hospital.
'We are keeping the situation under constant review and will post updates about services as necessary.
'Meanwhile, we cleaned all areas affected by the flooding at Newham Hospital yesterday and its emergency department is now open to people needing emergency care.
'We are working closely with other hospitals across the Barts Health group to maintain patient care and asking the public to check the latest visiting arrangements for each hospital on our website before coming to any site.'
The Met Office said thunderstorms occur when there is warm air on the surface that is underneath cooler air above it.
The warm air rises and creates instability which can create quite heavy downpours of rain and hail, as well as creating the conditions for thunder and lightning.
A Met Office spokesman said: 'Going forward, there's some more thunderstorms and intense downpours in the forecast, with a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms currently active until 5pm today in the far South East.
'The current dominant weather pattern of the UK is set to be a spell of low pressure, bringing with it some more persistent rain from Tuesday and into Wednesday, with some slow moving heavy rain expected over Scotland on Wednesday in particular.'
The spokesman said an official study would have to be completed before any connections to the weekend's weather can be linked to climate change, but added that the science indicates that warmer air can hold more water, so rainfall is increasing on average across the world.
'In some places, rainfall is becoming more intense as well. Heavy rainfall is also more likely.
'Since 1998, the UK has seen seven of the 10 wettest years on record. The winter storms in 2015 were at least 40% more likely because of climate change,' he said.
Four stations remain closed, although only Stepney Green is due to flooding, but there's good service across most train and tube services. Three others - Chancery Lane, Southwark and Temple - are closed due to staff shortages.
Eastbound Metropolitan line trains are not stopping at Liverpool Street and step-free access is not available due to flooding.
London Fire Brigade said last night that in total they had more than 600 calls to flood-related incidents including flooding to roads and properties, reports of ceilings collapsing and vehicles stuck in water.
Boris Johnson tweeted his thanks to the emergency services and volunteers after England's south was battered by thunderstorms.
'My thoughts are with everyone affected by the flooding in London and the South East,' the Prime Minister tweeted.
'A huge thank you to the emergency services and volunteers helping families and businesses through this difficult time.'
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: 'We are seeing increasing incidents of extreme weather events linked to climate change.
'This is not the first time in recent weeks that London has been hit by major flooding. Despite having limited powers in the area, it remains a key priority for myself and London's council leaders that more is done urgently to tackle flooding and the other impacts of climate change.
'This includes continuing to urge Thames Water to address localised issues with infrastructure that may exacerbate the impact of flooding.'
Downing Street said the Environment Agency would support any councils affected by flooding.
A No 10 spokesman said: 'The Environment Agency are looking at the situation closely and continue to work with local authorities to ensure that any support they need is provided.'
The spokesman said Boris Johnson agreed with scientists that extreme weather was more likely as a result of global warming, but it was a matter for experts to decide whether individual events were down to the phenomenon.
'The Prime Minister completely agrees that climate change is going to lead to more extreme weather events, which is why we are doing what we're doing to try and reduce greenhouse gases,' the spokesman said.
The Government was pushing for the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow 'to lead to positive changes to come'.
Pictures from the streets of the capital yesterday evening show fire crews using specialist equipment to rescue drivers from stranded cars.
Pictured: A car is left covered in mud and debris today one day after being stuck in floodwater in Battersea, London
Police wade through deep flood water to assist a van driver whose vehicle is submerged in Chigwell Road, London, today
A London taxi drives through water on a flooded road in The Nine Elms district of London today after thunderstorms
Under water: The subway at South Woodford Station, pictured today, has flooded after heavy rainfall yesterday afternoon
London Fire Brigade crews had to come to the rescue after two cars became stranded in flood water at Worcester Park today
Flooding in Chigwell today after thunderstorms hit London last night
Pictured: Volunteers inflated a dinghy and carried stranded passengers from a submerged bus in London
